Kakashi wonders sometimes what he was thinking, hesitating the way he did.
He had been so afraid of the dark emptiness of this place, never really full even when he lived here as a child, too expansive for a too-smart kid and a worn down veteran. After his father's death it had grown impossibly colder, emptiness seeping into the walls the same way Sakumo's blood had seeped between the floorboards. He'd been afraid to bring his team here, afraid that the empty cold that he remembered haunting the rooms would weigh on their bright souls as they slept.
He hadn't counted on the reverse being true.
Any cold that once tried to linger here has been chased off with force; Naruto's warmth and energy diffusing into every corner and crack and lingering in whatever space he occupies, Sakura's bright determination and strength a bastion against whatever ghosts may yet have lingered, even Sasuke's quiet resolve hides the strange subtle burn of devotion that banishes any chill that might be lurking in the seams. These little ninja have pushed themselves into every cranny and nook, transformed every chakra enforced wall and piece of furniture, and now Kakashi hardly recognises his own home.
And even if there had been any emptiness stalking around between the walls, it's sure as hell gone now.
"Easy Aoba, don't spill."
"If you want this endeavor to go smoothly then you should tell your brats to stop darting past my shins!"
"You're a Tokujo for gods' sakes you should have better balance."
"Blame the Bug Brat, I still can't see straight… "
"Ino, honey. Come here and let me see your bangs. We'll see what we can do about the singed bits."
"Iruka-sensei! We need a taste tester!"
"Coming, coming. Don't shout inside Naruto, it's bad manners."
"Soooorry."
"Genma-san, do you know if anyone has any allergies?"
"No peanuts for Anko, kit-kat. It's not that bad, but it makes her face puff up."
"Don't say it like that."
Kakashi watches from against the partition that separates the kitchen from the larger half of the main room, hiding his observations behind the easy guise of his Icha Icha. He's comfortable enough with the company to be a little dressed down– his Jounin vest and overshirt are gone and he's changed out of his mission pants into dark grey civilian sweats, since he'd managed to get both paint and chakric plaster on the former.
He's not the only one in less than standard clothes– almost all the Tokujo had run home to change before taking Kakashi and his kids up on their offer for free food, Asuma has stripped out of his vest and Kurenai had used one of the spare rooms to change into black mission pants and a matching tank top earlier, and Iruka had been in his civs when he arrived.
It's almost cozy enough to make Kakashi uncomfortable.
And speaking of uncomfortable…
"Well isn't this quite the trainwreck."
Ikari Ryouta stands glaring and smoking in the open doorway, his hands deep in the pockets of his standard shinobi slacks. Kakashi raises an eyebrow at the grouchy surgeon, and the man huffs out a breath laden with smoke.
Sakura materializes around a corner with a bright smile, a streak of curry sauce on her cheek, no doubt from kitchen shenanigans. "Ikari-sensei!" she chirps, and Ryouta's posture relaxes a bit.
"There you are, short stuff. Shiki said something about free food?"
"It's not done yet, but it will be soon. Did you finish your paperwork?"
Ryouta chuckles wryly. "What are you, my secretary? And what the hell is that on your face? You're training to be a medic-nin not a slob." He rubs the streak of curry spice and beef bullion off her cheek with his sleeve until she wriggles away with a laugh and swipes the rest away herself.
"Come on in, we have snacks!" she chirps, and then darts back into the kitchen.
Ryouta looks up and meets Kakashi's eyes again, his glare falling right back into place from where it had slipped to something close to fondness. "Calm down Hatake, I'm not going to give you a shot in the hallway."
Kakashi lets his eyes curve up in a taunt of a half smile. "You say that like you haven't done it before," he counters.
Genma takes the moment to walk back into the main room from the kitchen, take two long blinks at Ryouta, and walk right back out again. Ryouta rolls his eyes and goes to sit down next to Hayate, who offers him a bowl of wasabi peas.
Kakashi returns to his pretense of reading, unease crawling around under his skin again. It's tempered easily by the warmth around him, simple enough to ignore. It would be rude to leave now, even for him; he can wait until the everyone leaves to go settle his nerves.
But just as the thought crosses his mind there's a rustle and a soft step and Sasuke appears by his elbow, apparently finding a body flicker easier than actually walking to him from the kitchen.
"Something wrong?" he asks.
Sasuke shakes his head, his eyes oddly intent. "You should go."
Kakashi blinks at the non-sequitur. "What?"
Sasuke huffs and looks pointedly at the group of Jounin and Tokujo nearby, as if suddenly irritated with their proximity. "You haven't gone to the memorial today yet, right? Naruto can tell it's bugging you." Sasuke says so softly that the sound barely carries, like it's a secret. It's not, Sasuke knows that, but he also knows that Kakashi doesn't exactly appreciate drawing attention to it.
Kakashi can't help the fondness in his smile and the calming bloom of warmth in the normally chilly space of his chest from the consideration alone. Out of all three of his Genin Sasuke by far is the one who hates emotions the most, and coming from him the thought is that much warmer.
Unable to help himself he sets a hand on the Uchiha's head and ruffles his dark hair. "I'm alright, cub. I can go later."
Sasuke indulges the attention for a few seconds before he ducks away, looking a little miffed like Kakashi missed his point entirely. "Curry is going to take another hour, sensei. It's fine, really." And then Sasuke looks up at him, determined but also a little bit vulnerable, like he understands, and Kakashi realizes that he probably does. "Go." he repeats.
Kakashi looks at him for along moment, but then, eventually he nods. "Alright then. Make sure the Tokujo don't break anything while I'm gone, yeah?"
Sasuke, the brat, rolls his eyes with a derisive, obviously, and flickers back into the kitchen.
Kakashi takes a deep breath and pushes off the partition.
Iruka sees him go, but doesn't say anything, much less attempt to stop him. He just smiles a little, eyes soft with compassion but never pity, and makes a shooing motion with one hand before turning back to the stove, settled as in intermediary between Sasuke and Naruto's customary flavor debate.
Genma notices, because of course he does, but instead of drawing attention to him, he covers his escape by yelling too loudly at Anko stop chasing Kiba and Hinata around indoors because you're going to break shit goddammit what are you even doing.
Kakashi wonders what he did to deserve them.
It doesn't take him long to get to the memorial stone. He doesn't plan to stay long since it's only a matter of time before even his brats start to miss him, and he'd be shunned out of his own house if he missed curry. But even as he approaches he feels his nerves begin to calm, the monster of grief pacing restlessly back and forth in his chest stilling for now.
He doesn't talk much to anyone but Obito this time around, and the words flow easy once he starts, soft and fond as he talks about Naruto's rising and terrifying penchant for sealwork that's looking to overtake even Minato's skill, about Sasuke's adaptability and skill with a variety of different weapons and his growing fondness for kenjutsu that is starting to become contagious, about how Sakura's monster strength and cleverness are turning her into a kunoichi to be feared already and how he's a bit worried about her glee in discovering that certain aspects of medical ninjutsu could theoretically be weaponized.
He talks about the upcoming chunin exams, asks theoretical questions about what missions he should take them on in the interim, how best to help them overcome their weaknesses and develop their strengths as individuals as well as their strengths as a team. He swears sometimes that he can feel warmth in his chest that isn't his, contentment and maybe even relief blooming under his ribs in approval or pleased surprise that isn't his.
Maybe he's going mad. It wouldn't be the first time he's thought so.
He feels a great deal better by the time he's finished, even though it took him longer than he thought, and by the time he heads back his chest feels lighter for once instead of heavier.
When he returns he finds Ryouta loitering outside the fringe building on the grounds, the one he'd spent the day working into some semblance of order. Kakashi approaches warily, through Ryouta seems far too interested in the building to even really notice him, his cigarette burning merrily away at the corner of his mouth.
"Something I can do for you Ikari-san?" he asks, as much to announce his presence as to ask a question– it's never a good idea to sneak up on ex-anbu. He would know.
But Ryouta just hums absently and reaches up to take his cigarette from his mouth, eyes never straying from the the dark painted walls and carvings that make up the building's face.
He gestures forward with his cigarette. "Is this what I think it is?"
"It depends on what you think it is." Kakashi says blithely.
Ryouta's contemplative expression sours. "Don't get smart with me, Hatake. This is a Black Temple, isn't it?"
Kakashi shrugs, can find no reason to lie. "Yes. It's in poor shape still, I've managed to get it's most basic functions up and running, but nothing else.
Ryouta huffs, still staring intently at the shrine-like facade. The dark chakra paint is finally starting to set, darkening from a matte grey to deep black as the sun bakes it's energy into the surface. As the moon rises the heated chakra in the paint will crystalize, transforming into a smooth lacquer-like polish.
"I don't get it." The surgeon grunts.
Kakashi ticks an eyebrow up skeptically. "What's not to get?"
"I've seen the Black Temples in the Aburame clan lands, the Nara, the Inuzuka. Hell, I maintain the one behind the hokage's main house. I've even seen the old massive pair, perched on the edges of the Hyuuga complex."
"So?" Kakashi mutters, through he already has an idea where this is heading.
"So why is this one older."
"Because it was the first." Kakashi answers blandly.
Ryouta does finally turn to look at him, eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to tell me that the first Black Temples were built by the Hatake?"
"Yes and no." Kakashi allows. "This is more a… prototype to the traditional healing temples. If you were to drag an old Hatake clansman from the grave they'd tell you that the ones spattered around the clan lands aren't true Kuro Tera at all."
Ryouta takes a final drag from his cigarette before stubbing it out on his sandal, turning to give Kakashi his full attention at last. "I don't follow."
"The Black Temples around the clan lands are for advanced healing, recovery from intense missions that are draining physically mentally, and chakra wise."
"What else would they be for?" Ryouta grumbles, but Kakashi has his full attention, gaze fixed in him like a hawk.
"Well, in true Hatake tradition," Kakashi says drolly, "The Black Temple was developed for healing second and strengthening first. They have similar processes, but not the same."
"So it was created during the first war, then." Ryouta surmises. "A way to turn broken soldiers back onto the field faster."
"That is a very kind way of putting it." Kakashi says wryly. "The chakra network and symphony lines are still disabled, but I was planning to let my team lay into it, turn it into whatever they wanted."
"Something to keep them busy?" Ryouta guesses.
"That too."
Ryouta rubs his jaw, giving the building another once over. He seems conflicted for a few minutes, his expression rotating through concentration, consternation, and anticipation in turns. "This whole thing is a recipe for disaster, you realize." he says suddenly.
"I'm sure they can refrain from blowing it sky high." Kakashi defends, a sarcastic lilt to the statement. He has no idea if that's true– Naruto alone would easily be capable of that kind of destruction.
"Not what I meant, Hatake." Ryouta counters. "You have no idea what you're doing here do you?"
Kakashi's stomach dips low at the statement. Despite the way his kids are clearly gowning and maturing, doubt still festers, cold and bitter, low in his chest. He has no experience in this, and somewhere in the back of his head he's sure he has to be doing something wrong.
Kakashi's body language only shifts a little, so long training in Anbu dulling even the most reflexive shows of emotion, but he's not the only one here Anbu trained, and Ryouta catches the practically microscopic stiffening of his shoulders and tightening around his visible eye.
"No, no, not like that." he says quickly, grimacing and rubbing the back of his neck hard. "You do just fine by these kids, and that's the whole issue here."
"I'm afraid I don't follow." Kakashi replies easily, keeping his tone reserved.
Ryouta huffs and leans against one of the carved pillars, digging around in his pocket for his cigarette case. "The ninja world works on a pretty well defined system. Weaker ninja are placed on less heavy missions, raised more or less normally, and are allowed to develop decent emotional reserves and maintain mental stability. Higher level ninja, gods forbid prodigies, develop lopsided; all form and function but usually lacking emotional stability or capability, riddled with ticks and maladaptive personality traits. It keeps things balanced more or less, because the strongest ninja are typically the craziest, and manifest personality weaknesses that can be exploited if not properly accounted for."
He's talking like an Anbu, in a kind of tone that Kakashi is conditioned to pay very close attention to. Kakashi sees his point– and Ryouta would know more about high level shinobi psychology than most.
"And how does that apply here?" he questions, though he thinks he can see where Ryouta's train of thought is leading.
"I talked to your brats. Kakashi." He says crossly, like that should explain everything.
Kakashi narrows his eyes. "You mean you performed field psych evals on my Genin. Without my permission."
Ryouta waves him off. "That's not the point. What I'm saying is that aside from some clear codependency issues, I can count their psychological problems on one hand all together."
"What psychological problems?" Kakashi demands, momentarily sidetracked.
Ryouta shrugs, crossing his arms and waving one hand in absent circles as he recalls. "Uchiha is still coming out of severe emotional repression, likely a result of clan orientation, trauma, and extended emotional isolation all wrapped up together. The fact that he's coming out of it at all is frankly astonishing, though the reserved quality of his personality is likely permanent. Uzumaki shows some signs of contact based stress trauma, a result of spending his formative years without any kind of physical contact, though it's only really noticeable if you sneak up on him. Sakura and the Uchiha are exceptions to the rule as far as I can tell, which is a good sign. Sakura is still kicking out the last of her inferiority complex, but other than that and some temper issues, she's right as rain."
Kakashi nods along with Ryouta's diagnosis. He was aware of most of that already. In the ninja world, much more detrimental quirks have been considered normal, and he's glad to see that what he gleaned from their behavior was the extent of it.
"I don't really see the problem, Ikari-sensei. Given the way they grew up, things could be far worse."
Ryouta rolls his eyes, exasperated. "You are raising a handful of Genin with already strong baseline skills, that are honing strengths past the Chunin level of ability already. They are emotionally stable. This means that they will not be prone to burnout or psychological pitfalls. They are stubborn but reasonable, proud but not arrogant, and they chafe under authority." Ryouta finally succeeds in lighting his cigarette and takes a long drag before he continues. "It's a godsdamned powder keg. You give them the room and the support and they will grow completely unchecked. That kind of power attracts a lot of attention from unsavory places, a lot of things become possible that weren't before, and it's going to piss a lot of people off."
Kakashi, nods. "The best of us find that the greatest source of adversity is mediocre minds." he agrees.
"A quote of the Yondaime's." Ryouta acknowledges. "You prepared to protect them from that?"
"Of course." Kakashi says immediately, without even the slightest of hesitations.
Ryouta snorts. "Spoken like a Hatake. Not even sure why I asked."
He stares at Kakashi for a long moment afterwards, jaw flexing, letting his cigarette smolder past the ends of his fingers. He's making a decision of some sort, picking a side maybe– Kakashi isn't sure– but eventually he brings his half wasted cigarette up to his mouth and take a drag, before huffing out out the smoke in a long breath of grey-flecked white.
"Alright wolf." He says at last. "I'll give you and your brats access to the spare materials for the Black Temples that I have access to, reserves and all. In exchange, your other two Genin see me at least thrice a week for combat medic lessons."
Kakashi blinks, taken aback. "That's… generous of you."
"Your brats are going to be World-Wreckers, Kakashi. One way or another." Ryouta grumbles. "They need responsibility with that power or it's going to run out of their control, and if they're going to learn how to take a human being apart, they damn well better know how to put one back together."
"Fair enough." Kakashi allows, though he's fighting a grin. "Looks like Sakura almost has that covered already."
Ryouta levels an accusatory finger at him. "Don't get me started. She's putting my nurses out of a job."
"How come this stuff tastes different every time I eat it?" Kiba asks no one in particular as he shovels curry in his mouth with an absence of manners that makes Ino cover her own mouth reflexively. Hinata, bless her gushy little heart, just giggles at his enthusiasm.
"I think it's evolving." Shikamaru rumbles dryly, taking another bite himself.
"It's quite delicious." Shino appraises. He's taken off his jacket entirely as not to get any of the messy curry on the pale fabric, and Ino can't help but notice how different he looks without the heavy outer layer. She can see the tiny lines of holes in his skin down the length of his bare arms, the little burrow holes of his symbiotic insects. She hasn't seen any of them poke their heads out though, and when she'd asked about it Shino told her that they spent most of their time hibernating unless he was actively channeling his chakra. She finds it weirdly fascinating.
They're circled on one of the flat boulders that dot the long grass of the Hatake property, perched close to the cliffs. Ino peers over the side of their stone seat, settled like an island in a waving sea of pale grasses. The cliff slopes harshly away into the Konoha wilds, thick emerald trees with branches woven into a verdant mat that filters the light chlorophyll green.
Ino starts a little when Sakura plops down beside her without warning, her own bowl of curry in hand, and tugs softly on a thick strand of her bangs. "Kurenai-sensei did an awesome job with damage control. It looks good." she hums, surveying the spot on her head where her hair was singed off by Aoba's renegade Incendiary Shot.
Ino touches the spot reflexively where it's been sheared short. It's not a large area, just a square bit past her temple where Kurenai-sensei had clipped away the damaged hair and then styled it to match everything else. Her hair is parted entirely to the other side of her head now, no effort made to conceal the short, admittedly stylish buzz on the side. She had been a little upset at the time, but she thinks the style might be growing on her.
"You're sure it doesn't look strange?" She asks, trying not to sound as self-conscious as she feels.
Sakura only beams and shakes her head. "Not at all! I think it suits you, personally. Gives all that soft gold an edge."
"Really?" Ino questions. She hadn't real thought about it like that. Her mother had always told her that a woman's hair is sacred, that she should always be the first thing she cares for in her appearance. But Kurenai had warned her that long hair could be impractical in battle and could be used against her if she wasn't careful.
She looks up at Sakura's ponytail, eyeing the short, sharp swish of pale pink. It's hardly half the length it was before she'd left on that strange C-Rank the three Genin of team seven seem reluctant to talk about.
"Did yours get clipped during the mission?" Ino asks, gesturing to her ponytail.
Sakura blinks a little, surprised, her springwater eyes flashing turquoise in the light filtering through the trees, then she shakes her head with a smile, reaching up to trace one of her thin fringe braids with two fingers.
"No, I just felt like I needed a change." She says easily, like the decision is that simple. Maybe it is.
Ino leans her cheek against her palm and looks at Sakura sideways. "So you really gave up on him? Sasuke I mean."
To Ino's surprise, Sakura snickers at that. "If you mean I've stopped falling all over someone I don't know very well, then yes." She replies easily. "But I know him now. Sasuke? The real one? He's a jerk, a picky eater, terrible at getting up in the mornings, stays up too late sharpening kunai, is still too fire-heavy with his jutsu, and cheats when we play capture the flag." Sakura turns her head to meet Ino's pale sky eyes with her shining liquid green ones. "He's family now. Sure, I gave up on a dumb crush, but I'll never give up on my brother. Either of them."
Ino blinks hard, and stares, and stares and stares. Sakura sounds ten years older than she is, mature in ways Ino has been envious of for months. She just sounds so damn sure of herself all the time and Ino wants to know where she can get some of that confidence for herself.
Without thinking about it, Sakura's words ringing in her head, Ino glances to her side, where Choji and Shikamaru are sitting together talking lowly over their curry bowls, and all she can think is; oh hell, she's got a point.
Kakashi-sensei shows them the building after everyone has left. Naruto can sense the chakra in the walls even as he steps foot in the place, the echoes of old chakra constructs dormant within the walls and beneath the floor.
"What is this place?" Sasuke asks.
"This is a Black Temple." Kakashi answers readily. "They were made for internal strengthening and recovery during the first shinobi world war. It's been broken down for as long as I can remember, and a great deal of it functions on now extinct forms of jutsu." Kakashi stops to look down at Naruto. "But I figure, since we already have one expert here on extinct jutsu, you three might be able to figure something out."
"I've seen something like this before." Sasuke cuts in. "There's a similar building on the Uchiha compound."
"Most clans have a more refined and specialized version of a Black Temple on their grounds, to speed up recovery from damage on missions that might require long term healing otherwise." Kakashi clarifies. "This one is a little different, as I'm sure you'll discover."
"What do we do with it?" Sakura wonders, peering down across the open floor of one of the rooms, circled with a dozen oval shaped basins set into the floor like the numbers on a sun dial.
"Whatever you like." Kakashi allows. "Consider it a project you three can work on between missions, if you like. I have a feeling it will help with your training for the Chunin exams I'll be signing you up for in June."
"Sweet!" Naruto shouts. "Does this mean we'll be going on more C-rank missions now?" he demands.
"As much as you can stomach, twerp." Kakashi says fondly, dropping a hand down to ruffle his gold hair. "Also, in exchange for raw materials to help with you little project here, you and Sasuke will be seeing Ikari-sensei between missions for training in field medicine."
"Oh?" Sasuke quips. "We probably would have done that anyway."
"Speak for yourself." Naruto grumbles. "My chakra control is still shit."
Sakura leaps sideways to put her sibling in a headlock. "How the hell are you supposed to get better if you don't practice, idiot."
Naruto flails when she gives him a squeeze that threatens his bone structure. "Alright, alright! Now stop trying to kill me!"
Kakashi-sensei laughs at them, herding them back outside. "Alright. Evening stretches you three and then get some sleep. I'll see what kind of C-ranks are available in the morning, now off with you."